Tuesday letters to the editor

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, December 20, 2004

Pray for wisdom

To the editor:

I imagine most readers have heard the comment of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, "the army uses what the army has." If he were talking about Pearl Harbor, that would be a realistic statement. Let's think about this for a moment. Iraq was a pre-emptive strike. When Japan bombed our ships on Dec. 7, 1941, was that a pre-emptive strike? Yes, of course - they were prepared and we were not!

So, the powers that be, decided that the U.S. should launch a pre-emptive strike on Iraq. A country that knew we were coming and made plans accordingly. We had time to evaluate the possibilities both good and bad, but we chose not to. A general during an interview on C-Span, around the time the war started, mentioned that the military must always plan for the worse and hope for the best. Unfortunately, that gentleman is retired. He said that we must plan for the aftermath of the war and we needed more troops, for that reason.

Enters Rumsfeld, who says we needed a small, quick moving force and we did not need more "boots on the ground." It would seem, even short-term history, has proven this to be wrong. So what now? We are there! Now they say we will need more troops. The troops say they need more armored vehicles. Let's hope the people's leaders will listen to the troops and follow through with the greatest of haste. They are our life line in times like these. They must be given every protection that is humanly possible. They must know that their government is diligently working and thinking day and night, planning ahead, to protect both citizens and soldiers. This is the greatest mandate that our elected officials have.

We are blessed to live in this country. Let us pray for providential wisdom for our leaders. I pray that God will wipe away the tears of the families of our troops and give them strength each day. I pray our troops will look up to the heavens and remember that those same stars were seen by the Prince of Peace, and feel his healing touch. I pray that peace will come and our brave troops will be home soon.

SHERRY RATELL

Midland

Unconscionable

To the editor:

I cannot stop thinking about a recent newspaper headline.

"President Bush seeks $40 million for inauguration" followed by "Rumsfeld on the defensive regarding armor in Iraq."

It is unconscionable that the United States of America is sending its young men and women soldiers into harm's way without the best protection possible. We are the wealthiest nation the world has ever known. So wealthy that the administration wants to spend $40 million celebrating its election but can only manage to armor 400 trucks a month. Twenty-one months after invading Iraq, our young soldiers continue to risk their lives without necessary safeguards. This is from a country that produced over 30,000 heavy tanks a year in 1943.

If the American public wants to "Support Our Troops," we need to do more than place a yellow ribbon on our cars. I urge you to contact your elected officials and demand true support for our troops. Please write a letter to President Bush, Secretary Rumsfield, Sens. Levin and Stabenow and Rep. Camp demanding action today. Before the governor asks us to lower our flags to half-mast in honor of another fallen soldier who may have died unnecessarily, ask yourself if you have done all you could to prevent it.

KAP SIDDALL

Midland

What happened to the rest of the story?

To the editor:

Concerning Managing Editor Ralph E. Wirtz' column on Dec. 10: What happened to the rest of the story?

The reporter from Tennessee was upset over the specific request by Rumsfeld to limit the questions to soldiers. So he proceeds to line up two soldiers, prompts them with questions to ask, contacts the sergeant who was in charge of identifying those who could ask questions to make sure one of the soldiers is called on. (He must have worked for the NY Times, based on the method he used.) It wasn't the soldier's question that was asked, but the reporter's. As it turns out, the question was stupid, since any veteran knows what the answer is, and the reporter wasn't smart enough to craft a significant question - he probably did not spend any time in the service. Unfortunately, this soldier may be participating in more duties than he had planned. The reporter should be sent back to the states, since having someone like that around our military will get someone killed.

That falls into the category of Sen. John McCain's comments about Rumsfeld, and the soldiers present/not present in Iraq, and here he is on the oversight committee that is supposed to reviewing what is going on in Iraq. The folks who speak out against Rumsfeld have no plan and are sitting in the grandstand yelling without a ticket of experience.